ON HIGHER GROUND

Among the war chapters in the Book of Mormon is a highly educational story of a man called Amalickiah, a dissenter from the Church of God, who sought to be king and thereby caused a division among the Nephites, leading away many of them to destroy the foundation of liberty (Alma 46:10). By his cunning and deviousness, Amalickiah fled the land of Zarahemla with his many converts and gained the favour of the king of the Lamanites planning to dethrone him and make himself king (Alma 47:4).  Having convinced the king to go to battle against the Nephites, he again caused a division amongst the people. Those who would not consent to fight fled to the place called Onidah with a leader called Lehonti gathering themselves upon the top of the mountain Antipas. Here comes into play one of the most interesting stories in the Book of Mormon.

Amalickiah, being a 'subtle man to do evil' (Alma 47:4) devised the most clever plan to obtain the kingdom through Lehonti, who originally opposed him in every way. Causing his army to pitch their tents in the valley near the mount Antipas, Amalickiah proceeded to coax Lehonti to come down the mountain to speak with him. The record states that Lehonti at first would not dare to do so but Amalickiah was patient and persistent. After sending the third message to Lehonti, Amalickiah decided to get closer and ascended half way up the mountain enticing Lehonti to come to down to him with his guards to speak with him. On the fourth message Lehonti relented and came half way down the mountain. There Amalickiah lay open his plan before him as to how he could assist him in obtaining command of the whole army if he would place him, Amalickiah, as second in charge. Lehonti could not resist this temptation of power and came all the way down the mountain, took possession of the whole army through Amalickiah's assistance and became the leader he desired to be. There was only one problem. He had a dangerous man as his 'second in charge' who according to Lamanite custom stood to become chief leader if the chief was killed (Alma 47:17); a man who had plotted this very thing right from the beginning. The plan worked beautifully for Amalickiah instructed one of his servants to administer poison 'by degrees' to Lehonti and Lehonti died (Alma 47:18) leaving Amalickiah in charge of the entire army of the Lamanites. With such power under his belt, the whole kingdom fell into his hands as he proceeded with his evil plan and caused the death of the king by the hands of his servants. Thus by secret works, manipulating others to do his dirty work, did Amalickiah obtain the whole kingdom of the Lamanites.

The story of Lehonti, who took his army to the top of the mountain for physical safety has many parallels with us today. As the covenant people of God we have been invited to perserve our spiritual safety on top of another mountain, the mountain of the Lord's house, the temple (2 Nephi 12:2). Anciently mountains were always synonymous with temples or any form of higher worship. High places were also where prophets of old received instructions by the Lord, as in Moses' case when he received the Ten Commandments upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 19,20). Today, LDS temples are always built on the highest vantage point in the designated community suggesting that once we have entered into sacred covenants with God, we stand on higher ground. It also suggests that higher knowledge regarding man's salvation and ultimate exaltation is received in the temples of God. Those who adhere to their temple covenants and make their abode with God within its sacred walls, receive spiritual protection and power against the enemy of all righteousness. This, however, does not mean that this enemy sleeps or has no interest in those who have made temple covenants and enjoy the safety of such. On the contrary, the adversary takes no sabbaticals and has more interest in those who are endowed with temple covenants than those who are not and he will use all his skills to bring them down the mountain.

Viewing Amalickiah as a prototype of the adversary we can learn that our enemy is three things - he is subtle, he is persistent and he is cunning. He watches patiently and plots with dedication to bring about our demise. He knows which buttons to push and he will do so repeatedly until cracks in our resolve begin to appear. Using subtle means he will make his enticements appear appealing and even of good value. Like Amalickiah, he will meet us half way up the mountain and make his propositions difficult to resist appealing to our egos and "what's in it for me" attitude. Once we succumb, he will 'poison' us 'by degrees' until he succeeds in bringing about our spiritual death. Compromising ourselves in such a way where our obedience to the commandments suffers can only lead us down the slippery slope to the valley of shadow and death where we are eventually cut off from the presence of the Lord (Alma 50:20). This is what our enemy hopes for, works for and lives for.

When Amalickiah left the Nephites, he fled before the armies of Captain Moroni. There would have to be no two people in the scriptures more unlike than Amalickiah and Captain Moroni. Whereas one sought to destroy, the other sought to preserve; whereas one sought self-interest, the other sought the welfare of his people; whereas one rejected God, the other accepted Him with all his heart. Amalickiah, 'a subtle man to do evil' (Alma 47:4), had one goal only: to subject others to the yoke of bondage. When that desire slipped from his grasp, he cursed God (Alma 49:27). Moroni's one goal was to perserve the welfare and safety of his people (Alma 48:12). This he did by not relying on his sword alone but on God's goodness by preparing his people to be faithful to Him (Alma 48:7). Moroni, a captain of the Nephite armies was a 'strong and mighty man', 'a man whose heart swelled with thanksgiving to his God', 'a man who was firm in the faith of Christ' (Alma 48:11-3). And here is the clincher, Mormon's appraisal of this man reads like a plaque in the hall of fame: "Yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men" (Alma 48:17).

Like Amalickiah, the adversary has only one goal: to put us in bondage. To achieve this he marches with his armies, like a thief in the night, seeking to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). He seeks to destroy us in the flesh and he seeks to destroy us in spirit. He is a collector of ruined lives, corrupted faith and lost spiritual destinies. Immediately preceding Christ's appearance to the ancient Americas, before He said anything else, the Saviour's voice was heard in the darkness as an explanation and a warning: "Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen" (3 Nephi 9:2). Like Nephites of old, we are at war. The battle is raging and many are falling by the way. People's hearts are failing and the love of many is waxing cold (D&C 45:26,27). There is only one place of refuge, one place of safety, one place of power that will help us stand to the end. Stand firm. Don't come down the mountain.